Rep. Norma Torres, D-Pomona, listens to Harry Chou, owner of American Furniture Manufacture, explain his business of making furniture for hotels during Torres’ “Made in the 35th” tour in Pomona on Wednesday, Aug. 9.

Rep. Norma Torres, D-Pomona sits on a sofa made by American Furniture Manufacture Inc.

Lawmakers face a full agenda when they return to Capitol Hill next month: a new federal budget, the debt ceiling, tax reform and infrastructure spending. Plus, President Donald Trump still wants Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare, and then there’s North Korea.

But for now, during their August recess, members of Congress from both parties are back in their districts getting reacquainted with constituents. Southern California lawmakers are touring businesses and factories, appearing at public events, speaking to community groups and holding campaign fundraisers.

They may seem omnipresent, but that doesn’t mean everyone can see them.

Many tours, fundraisers and speeches are off-limits to the public. Republicans in particular seem wary of holding town hall meetings, where they might face jeering crowds and sharply worded questions about health care and the Trump presidency in exchanges captured for endless viewing on YouTube.

“Angry people show up at town halls,” said Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. “Right now, most of the anger is on the Democratic side, so many Republicans are avoiding traditional town halls.”

“As an alternative, they sometimes hold (telephone town halls), where a staffer can screen out hostile calls,” Pitney added. “They can also speak to meetings of local organizations whose members don’t jeer.”

Even that doesn’t silence protesters. Critics of Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, have made a habit of picketing his private events, including a recent golf fundraiser in Riverside.

Lawmakers representing swing districts “need to work their districts to show that they are not losing touch,” Pitney said. “Members in safe districts have the luxury of using recess to reconnect with their families, though it’s usually a good idea to take those families to local attractions.”

Speeches and tours

Those hosting town hall meetings in the coming days include Reps. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks; Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana; and Mark Takano, D-Riverside, according to the Town Hall Project, a progressive group with an online map of upcoming town hall meetings across the country.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, has held several town-hall meetings with constituents this year.

Lawmakers also are speaking to various community groups. At a luncheon earlier this month with members of four chambers of commerce, Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Whittier, said North Korea’s testing of missiles that could carry nuclear warheads has kept her up at night.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, used a gathering of liberal activists in Aliso Viejo to muster enthusiasm for the 2018 midterm elections, when Democrats hope to take control of Congress.

“It is your job to make sure people are excited next November as they are right now,” Lieu was quoted as saying in a published report.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Redlands, who held a town hall meeting in February, is visiting a senior living facility and hosting a veterans resource fair as well as a job fair this month, spokeswoman Sarah Weinstein said. He’s also continuing his “Job For a Day” tour in which he works at local businesses, she added.

Takano spokesman Josh Weisz said the congressman will be at a bilingual town hall forum and a health care town hall meeting this month in Riverside.

Takano has “one small fundraiser at the end of the month,” Takano campaign spokesman Charlie Beall said.

Rep. Norma Torres, D-Pomona, toured various businesses last week in her district, which includes Fontana, Ontario, Rialto and Pomona. The businesses include such companies as a furniture-making plant in Pomona and a Fontana screw manufacturer.

On the Republican side, Calvert spokesman Jason Gagnon said the congressman, who held a telephone town hall meeting and spoke to this news organization in a Facebook Live interview earlier this year, is “meeting with constituents, speaking at community events in the district, visiting local military installations and talking to local educators.

“Hearing from his constituents and having productive conversations about the challenges they are facing is incredibly important to Rep. Calvert,” Gagnon said.

Rohrabacher will meet constituents “but not at public events,” spokesman Ken Grubbs said. “He also has plans to celebrate his wedding anniversary.”

Cook “will be in the district for the vast majority of the recess,” spokesman Michael Fresquez said. “He does not have any campaign fundraisers planned. He will be meeting with constituents and attending public events but will not be holding a town hall.”

Walters on Aug. 9 visited an aerospace systems manufacturer in Irvine, according to her official Twitter account. Royce attended National Night Out anti-crime events in Brea, Fullerton, Placentia and Rowland Heights, according to his website.

At the start of August, Issa visited startup companies in his district as part of “Startup Day Across America.” He also appeared on cable news to warn that North Korea’s development of a nuclear warhead that could fit on a missile would rival the Cuban Missile Crisis in terms of threats.

Town Hall Meetings

Here are some upcoming town hall meetings hosted by Southern California members of Congress this month.

Jeff Horseman got into journalism because he liked to write and stunk at math. He grew up in Vermont and he honed his interviewing skills as a supermarket cashier by asking Bernie Sanders “Paper or plastic?” After graduating from Syracuse University in 1999, Jeff began his journalistic odyssey at The Watertown Daily Times in upstate New York, where he impressed then-U.S. Senate candidate Hillary Clinton so much she called him “John” at the end of an interview. From there, he went to Annapolis, Maryland, where he covered city, county and state government at The Capital newspaper before love and the quest for snowless winters took him in 2007 to Southern California, where he started out covering Temecula for The Press-Enterprise. Today, Jeff writes about Riverside County government and regional politics. Along the way, Jeff has covered wildfires, a tropical storm, 9/11 and the Dec. 2 terror attack in San Bernardino. If you have a question or story idea about politics or the inner workings of government, please let Jeff know. He’ll do his best to answer, even if it involves a little math.

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